SC’s Haley tapped for UN job

Associated Press

PALM BEACH, Fla.

Injecting the first diversity into his Cabinet-to-be, Donald Trump selected two Republican women on Wednesday who had unflattering things to say about him during the presidential campaign: South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and charter school advocate Betsy DeVos to lead the Department of Education.

Gov. Haley has little foreign policy experience, yet Trump praised her as “a proven dealmaker.” DeVos, like Trump, is new to government but has spent decades working to change America’s system of public education.

DeVos and Haley are the first women selected for top-level administration posts as the president-elect works to shape a White House team from scratch. Haley is the daughter of Indian immigrants, so she also would be his first minority selection after a string of announcements of white men.

Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson said “an announcement is forthcoming” on his role, which would make him the first black choice but he also suggested he’d be thinking about it over the Thanksgiving holiday.

The picks came as Trump worked to distance himself from the “alt-right,” a movement of white supremacists who continue to cheer his election.